The number of cables required by computers and other electronic devices can make cable management a difficult problem. Most electronic devices require at least a power cable, and many also require additional cables to transmit data, receive data, and/or perform other functions. A typical desk or other work area (the terms “work area,” “desk,” and “desktop” will from this point be used interchangeably herein) has several such cables running between one device and another or between a device and a power outlet. In many cases the power outlet resides in a receptacle located on a wall behind and below the work area, or in a power strip or surge protector on the floor under the work area. The frequent result is an unwieldy tangle of cables that is both unsightly and disorganized.
A further cable management problem arises when the desk is positioned so close to a wall that a person inserting cables cannot get behind the desk. In such a case, the person must usually crouch awkwardly under the desk, or to one side of it, plug the first end of the cable—which often terminates in an adapter that is too large to fit between the desktop and the wall, or through any cable opening in the surface of the desk—into the power outlet, and then place the second end of the cable on the desktop and hope it stays there until it can be grasped from a position above and in front of the desk from which the second cable end can be inserted into the appropriate port or other receptacle. It is not uncommon for the second end of the cable to fall off the desk, requiring the person to return to an uncomfortable position under the desk and to again try to balance the cable end on the desktop. The process is often a frustrating and difficult one.
A third cable management problem is similar to that described in the preceding paragraph. It arises when a free end of a cable is to be permanently left at the surface of the desk so as to be available for insertion into a device when such is desired. As an example, consider a power cord for a cellular telephone (cell phone). According to one typical usage pattern, the cell phone would be placed on the desktop overnight and plugged into the free end of the cell phone's power cord so that the cell phone's battery may be recharged. The end of the power cord opposite the free end would be left permanently in the power outlet. Without some means of holding it in place, the free end of the cable tends to fall off the surface of the desk and onto the floor, from where it must be located and retrieved each time it is to be inserted into the cell phone. Accordingly, there exists a need for a cable management device capable of facilitating both cable organization and cable connection processes.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical, mechanical, or other manner.